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Diane Paulus has become one of the most respected directors on Broadway because she approaches every project with a simple question – Why? – which she applies to every aspect.

"Why is this show necessary? What impact can this show have? Why should a family spend their time and dollars to sit in the dark with us?" Paulus said in an interview.

"Creatives and directors can't take that for granted. Why should an audience care?"

Paulus has managed to answer the question at a high level in recent years, winning a Best Director Tony Award in 2013 for "Pippin." She was nominated for the same in 2009, for "Hair," and in 2014 made Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

She's bringing her latest Broadway show, "Finding Neverland," to Louisville Tuesday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Oct. 29 at The Kentucky Center as part of the PNC Broadway in Louisville series.

"Finding Neverland" is a musical that tells the story of writer J.M. Barrie, author of the 1904 play, "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Never Grew Up." Barrie's enduring story of faith and wonder brought us Wendy, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook and The Lost Boys.

"Finding Neverland" is based on the 2004 film starring Johnny Depp and Allan Knee's play, "The Man Who Was Peter Pan." Both detail Barrie's relationship with the Davies family and how brothers George, Jack, Peter and Michael inspired Barrie with their fanciful playacting.

The musical debuted in 2011 with a book by Knee and was revised in 2013 by the American Repertory Theater – where Paulus is art director – with a new book by James Graham and 22 songs by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy.

It ran for nearly 18 months on Broadway before opening in London.

"I really gravitate to musicals that pack an emotional punch," Paulus said. "I'm always interested in musicals that aren't afraid to also be serious theater. You can get music, sound, dance, lights, physicality and a story.

"J.M. Barrie's story does it on multiple levels. It's a story about an artist finding his voice so he can live again. His creative risk-taking really resonates with me."

Paulus said that she was especially enamored of Barrie's efforts to get "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Never Grew Up" mounted as a stage play. It was wildly ambitious for its time and even considered avant-garde, Paulus said, and its risks were rewarded when it became an all-ages hit.

"It's an homage to the theater and what it takes to put on a show," Paulus said.

The cast of "Finding Neverland," a music based on J.M. Barrie's creation of Peter Pan that's coming to The Kentucky Center in Louisville.(Photo: Courtesy of Jeremy Daniel)

The production that Paulus is bringing to Louisville has been further revised, with a new opening and a new song, "My Imagination." Touring productions are often better than their Broadway counterparts, Paulus said.

"It's this wonderful opportunity to go back to your show and make it better," she said. "There's an incredible demand on Broadway to get a show open and once it's open, that's your show. You get to a point where you start to say, 'Oh, we'll fix it on the road.'

"This is for sure the best version of this show."

Reporter Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at 502-582-4160 and jpuckett@courier-journal.com.